Machine for introducing knickers into fabrics.



W. S. KINSLEY.

MACHINE FOR INTRODUCING KNICKERS INTO FABRICS.

APPucATIoN HLED APR. lo. 191s.

l,2f35,327 Patented July 31,1917.

4 SHEETS-SHEET l. 5a 29 .0 44' W. S; KINSLEY.

MACHINE F08 INTRODUCING'KMCKERS |No FABRICS.

APPLICATION FILED APR. I0, 1916. Patented July 3L 1917.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

3 auf-fg..

w. s. KINSLEY.

v MACHINE FOR INTHODUCING KNICKEFIS INTO FABRICS,

APPLICATION FILED APR. I0, ISIS. 1,235,327, Patented July 31', 1917,

4' SHEETS-SHEET 3.

w. s; KINSLEY. MACHINE FOR INTHODUCING KNICKERS INTO FABRICS.

APPLICATION FILED APR. I0. I 9I5 Patented July 31, 1917.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 4 material as raw mann srarns sereni* orrron WILLIAM S. KINSLEY, OF READING, MASSACEI-IUSETTS, ASSIGNOB. TO THE RUSSELL COMPANY, 0F BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION OF MAINE.

MACHINE FOR INTRODUCING KNICKERS OIN'IO FABRICS.

Application led April 10, 1916.

To all whom 'it may concern.'

Be it known that I, WrLLiAM S. KiNsLnY, of Reading, in the county of Middlesex and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Machines for Introducing Knickers into Fabries, of which the following is a specication.

This invention relates to the manufacture of fabric for clothing which is commonly known'as knickerbocker material in which spots or nubs of contrasting material appear scattered throughout the fabric.

The most common method lof introducing nubs or knickers to the machinery employed in preparing the fibrous material to be spun, is to mix the nubs with the raw or main stock of wool or other material in the picker room, and supply the entire mass of mixed material to the first breaker of a set of carding machines, In other words the nubs were usually mixed with the stock prior to any carding operation. An objectionable result of this operation is that the nubs of fibers become separated or carded to a greater` or lesser extent while passing through the carding machines, and if, in order to avoid such result, the workers are raised so high as to avoid objectionable action on the nubs, many of thenubs are liable to drop out andit is impossible to get the best carding results on the rest of the fibers because of such raising of the workers.

Attempts have been made to introduce the nubs or knickers directly to the cai-ding inachilies, but without really successful results so far as l am aware.

he object `of this invention is to obtain the best 'nal results with practically no carding out of the nubs so that they are preserved in their substantially round or pilllike foi-in until the drawing or roving is finally spun. Y

To attain this result I introduce the nubs at a. point intermediate the condition of the stock in the first card and the point where it issues from the third card as roving ready to be spun. The point of introduction which I prefer is ywhere the main body of the stock or raw stock issues from the second breaker of a set of cards in the forni of what is known as side drawing.r The main'stock2 .while in. rondt Speccaton of Letters Patent.

Patented July 31, 1917.

sei-iai No. 90,121. i

mi i la l sa am L.; tion of side drawingfi wlxose and fluy and yet the bers are sufficiently assembled to `not have the general form of the drawing disturbed by the introduction of the nubs, which introduction l preferably accomplish `by blowing the nubs into the drawing, the nubs being, of course, in highly scattered yrelative positions.

By introducing` the nubs in the manner described their' round or pill-like form is but slightly disturbed or altered when the stock passes through the third breaker and the nubs therefore become carded out to the very least extent, so that instead of some finally appearing in the fabric as short stripes, all really appear as they should, viz., as isolated spots. With the former method, supposing the raw or main stock is white and the knickers are red or blue. the final woven fabric frequently has a reddish or bluish tinge due to the carded out condition of the knickers. By my improvement such fabric retains its white appearance with distinct spots of red or blue.

0f the accompanying drawings in which I have illustrated one embodiment of mechanism including my improvements :w-

Figui'e l is a side elevation of the inachine.

Fig. 2 is an elevation looking from the right of Fig. l.

Fig. 3 represents a section on line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 represents a section looking down from the line f-t in Fig. l.

Fig. 5 is a. detail elevation of a portion of the conveyer or apron.

Fig. 6 is a detail view line 6 6 in Fig. 4.

The frame of the machine comprises a suitable base l2, two lower side frame members 13, and two upper side frame members 14, the upper portions of the latter supporting the walls of a 'distributing chamber l5.

The space or chamber which forms the main hopper into which a quantity of the nubs will be deposited, has one wall consisting of a toothed traveling conveyer or apron 17, which preferably has the hook-shaped pins arranged in spaced rows as indicated in f Fig. 5, to avoid .having we many ofthe nulos le i Y 30, so'that it can be elevated.

pins in rows as described, better facilitates.

the elevation of the proper number of nubs,

than to have the pins extending over the entire Varea of the apron, even if the pinsk were more widely spaced than illustrated.

The belt or apron 17, is mounted on rolls or drums, 1S, 19, carried by shafts 20, 2l, aV

support backing 22, being preferably employed to prevent dedection of the rising stretch of the apron out of its proper plane of movement.

To facilitate an inspection of the stock in the main hopper and to render it possible Y to observe if the machine is operating prop erly, l preferably provide the side frame members 14, with transparent glass panels 2? (Figs. l and The bottom ofthe main hopper constitutes Y a feeder and comprises two members 24, 25,

hinged togetherat 26, the member '25 being carried by'a rock-shaft 27, while the memberQ-h-is free to ride over a roll 9,8, when the members Q4, Q5, vibrate from the full line to the dotted line position of Fig.y

8, or the reverse, the object of which operation will be hereinafter explained.

A top or cover member Q9, is pivoted at A Awall or closure for the upper portion of the main hopper, above the member 2l, consists of a frame 3l, preferably having a glass Vpanel 82, saidframe being pivotally connected at 33 to the cover member 29. The lowerv edge.V

of the frame 3l, is provided with small rolls 34- (Fig. d) entering grooves 35 (see also Fig. 3) formed in the inner faces of the side frame members lei, so that, when the cover y is elevated, the frame 3l will also be elevated suliiciently to enable a stock of nubs to be deposited in the hopper through the space thus opened between the lower edge of the raised frame 3l, and t-he bottom member Q4. Aliexible apron '31 depends from the lower edge of the frame 3l.

Through ydriving means and connections hereinafter described the conveyer or apron 1'4", travels in the direction of the arrow in Fig. 3, the hook pins thereof separating a number of nubs from the stock in the main hopper. To prevent the complete elevation of an excessive number of nubs, l provide a rotary doctor 36, carried by a shaft 37, the latter being mounted in bearings 38, which are preferably horizontally adjustable as indicatedV inFig. l so that accuracy of opera-V tion of the doctor may be effected according to the quality Vand condition of the stock of nubs operated upon.Y

Above the doctor 36, is a supplementalV doctor comprising Ya roll carried by a sha ftA e0, and having 4:1, this doctor rotating in the samedirectionas the doctor 36, and serving` to remove separated or scattered relative straight pins or wires Y tered in a manner that might be compared with snowflakes.

@ne side of the lower portion of the cham-`r l ber'l, is inclined asbest illustrated in Eig..V

2, to reduce the area'of the outlet .from said chamber. From one side of the outlet from thischamber, a tube or passageway Llo, eX- tends the required distance and inv the proper direction to a somewhat troughsha-ped member el?, (see Figs.- 4c and 6). This member 47, 4is located in proper posi tion to su) ort the side drawing a as itv leaves the usual doffer rolls-i8'. into which drawing a the nubs are blown by a current of air supplied by a suitable fan indicated at 49, said fan beine carried by a 'shaft 50.

The air outlet from the fan casing enters the box 5l (5F ig. 2) and the outlet from said boX is directed across the bottom of the distributing chamber l5 and toward the tube or passageway e6. l find inV practice that it is advantageous toA somewhatv reduce or flatten out the current of the bottom of the distributing chamber, and to this end the upper surface of the passage where the air escapes from bola 51,'is inclined downwardly as shown at 52. It is to be understood at this point thatV there is never any accumulation of nubs'in the bot'- tom of chamber l5. As rapidly as the nubs fall to the bottom of the chamber l5, or nearly reach said bottom, they are talren up by the current of air while still in widely positions, and blown through the passageway flt, into the loose side drawing a, which is prevented from being deflected out of its usual course by the support 4l?.

The incline or air deflector 52 causes the Aair sweeping across air Ythat is forced through by the fan to act upon the air and nubs in chamber l5 somewhat as an ejector to create a suction and facilitate the travel of the kscattered nubs leys, the pulley 59 being carried by an arm or arms 61 pivotally supported on the axis 62 of the pulley 60, and having a suitably connected spring 63, to enable the pulley 59 to act as a belt tightener.

A belt 65, to operate the fan connects a pulley 66 carried by the fan shaft 50, with a pulley 67 on the main drive shaft 53. I will now describe the means for vibrating or oscillating the hopper bottom members 24, 25, so as to keep the stock of nubs subject to intermittent and yielding pressure or impulses toward the conveyer or apron to feed the nubs to the apron: Mounted loosely on shaft 27 (Figs. 1 and 4) is an arm 68 carrying a roll 69, which is acted on by a cam 70, carried by a shaft 71. A segment 72 is rigidly carried by rock-shaft 27, and has a stop block 73 for the arm 68 to contact with. A rod 74 pivotally connected to the segment extends through a guide bracket 75, a spring 76 coiled upon the rod acting, through the segment and its block 73, to cause the feed member 25 to act yieldingly, on the stock of nubs when pressing them toward the apron. The guide bracket is adjustable to vary the force of said spring to vary the number of nubs taken up by the apron. The greater the pressure, the more nubs will be taken up.

A spring 77 connects the arm 68 with the segment so that the roll 69 of the arm will keep in constant contact with the cam.v

As the feed board member 24 shifts, as indicated by the full and dotted lines in Fig. 3, there would necessarily be an open space at times between the frame 31, through which nubs would escape when the main hopper is lled above that level. The apron 31a prevents such escape, and at the same time yields to permit the member 24 to shift.

A sprocket 7 8 carried by shaft 71, is connected by a chain 79, with a sprocket 80, carried by a shaft 81 (Figs. 1 and 4) said shaft 81 having a bevel pinion 82 meshing with a bevelv pinion 83, carried by a shaft 84, having a worm-wheel 85 which is engaged with and actuated by a worm 86, carried by the main drive shaft 53. From this it will be understood that the rotation of the cam 70, is quite slow, said cam serving to shift'the bottom members 24, 25, to substantially the full line position of Fig. 3, afterwhich the spring 76 serves to yieldingly carry the bottom members ytoward the dotted line position of said figure. So long as there is considerable stock in the main hopper 16, the bottom members cannot of course reach the dotted line position referred to, but the member 25, will even then act through the stock to keep intermittently pressing the stock of nubs toward the conveyer or apron. As the amount of stock decreases, the very last pf it will be taken up by the conveyer or apron because, as the amount of stock gradually decreases to almost nothing, any nubs that are on the member 24, will slide therefrom onto the member 25, when said members are in the full-line position of Fig. 3 and will then be pressedv up to position to be taken by the hook pins of the apron.

As is well-known, the `drawing or roving issuing from al set of cards is caused to vary in sizeand speed of travel, in order to produce different sizes of yarn to be woven. It is of course desirable to vary the number of knickers or nubs delivered by my machine through the passageway 46, so that the yarn or the final fabric will have the PTOPQI' ers. One way to vary the said percentage as illustrated in Figs. 1, 2 and 4, is to vary the speed of travel of the apron.

The shaft 84 has a bevel pinion 87 see s Figs. 1, 2, 4) meshing with a bevel pinion 88,'carried by a shaft 89, carrying a cone step pulley 90, which is connected by a shiftable belt 91, with a cone step pulley 92, carried by a shaft 93 mounted in adjustable eccentric bearings 94. The shaft 93 has step pulleys 95 connected by a belt 96, with step pulleys 97 vcarried by the upper shaft 20 for the conveyer or apron. y adjusting the belts 91 and 96, relatively to the step kpulleys on which said belts run, the speed of travel of the apron may be varied without, of course, aecting in any way the speedl of operation of the other moving parts.

Practically the bottom members 24, 25 of the main hopper constitute a feed board mechanism which enables the feed to take care of itself. This is because the point to which the member 25 moves toward the conveyer or apron depends upon the amount of stock between the member 25 and the apron, and the amount of pressing force imparted by the spring 76.

A series of transverse rods 98, supported by the side frame members 14, and adjacent to the tips of the pins of the apron, serve to prevent any of the stock of nubs that are above the plane of action of the feeder from interfering with the operation of the apron or with the nubs that have been taken from the supply at the lower part of the or any desired, percentage of knickhopper 16. Without a guard such as pro- By' my improved .method it is not neces 130 sary'to employ as large a percentage of nubs f in order to obtain the desired results in thek fabric, and owing to the tact that the number of processes to which the nubs are subjee-ted is'reduced, the liability of their drop ping out is lessened. And sincethe nubs are not materially carded out, they lool; larger in the nished product.

Ot course it vwill be understood, without detailed description that the drawing,` c after the introduction of the nubs thereinto, is afterward converted into roving to be spun or twisted into yarn tor the manufacture. of woi'en lrniclrerboclrer material.

As indicated in Fig. el by the breaking ci the passageway or conduit d6 said conduit may be ot any length. find it will be readily understood that more than one oi my improved machines may be connected to said conduit. li' several are connected, and their hoppers are supplied with nubs or lniiclrers ot different qualities or colors, then a tariation Vof the nubs delivered at the end of the conduit may be Quickly effected by simply selecting,` for operation those machines which contain kthe nubs that may be needed for the desired combination oi' colors Vor qualities.

By the employment of the terms side drawingJ or roying7 herein, l do not limit myselie to the definition employed by any one authority, because the authorities are not in accord "in their definitions on this subject. According to some, the term sliyer7 would better denne the condition oi? the main stock as it leaves the doder a8 as hereinbeiore described, but in many woolen mills the term roving or side drawing is employed, and I prefer to employv these terms although with no intention or' limiting myself thereby,

because l believe. myself to be the first to introduce nubs of one kind `of fibrous material into material of another hind by blowing oneinto the other while said other is tra-yeling',7 regardless of whether said other material be slightly twisted or not, and

called sliyen roving or cdrawing @t courseit'is essential, for successful operation, that said other material be in suiiiciently loose and luily condition to permit the nubs to be blown into it enough to cause the nubs to be then carried along for the further treatment including iinal spinning. Having now described my invention in one of its embodiments without attempting to ldisclose all possiblemodications thereof, what l claim is:

l. The combination with a carding` ma.- chine, of an independent receptacle for fibrous material of a diiferent nature from tthe material ofthe main stoclr treated in the machine,` a conduit connecting` the said machine and independent receptacle, and means for blowing the material through said conduit.

` 2. The combination with mechanism for insana?` producing kside drawing of fibrous materia-l to be spun, of means for'introducing nubs comprising a support for a fibrous rovingV or drawing, a receptacle for fibrous material,

a chamber haring` an outlet delivering at one side et said support, means for continuously Y transferring small quantities of the material` from the receptacle to said chamber, said means consisting of an eleyating'toothed apron and a clearer for removing the material from the apron and scattering it "into the chamber, and means for directing a current ci air toward and through the chamber outlet.

5. A machine ot the character described, comprising a support for a fibrous roving or drawing, and means for Vblowing scattered fibrous material of a different nature from the material of the roving` or drawing into said roving or drawing while the latter `is on said support.

6. A machine of the character described, comprising a support for a brous roving or drawing, said support beingopen at both ends, a tube connecting with the support' intermediate its ends, and means Vfor blowing librous material of a dilierent nat-ure from the material of the drawing through said tube into the drawing.

7. A machine of the character described,

` comprising a receptacle for fibrous material,

an elevating;` apron in said receptacle, a feeder for insuring the constant supply of material to the apron, a chamber for receiving material elevated 'bythe apron, .and means for blowing` the material from said chamber into a roving 'or drawing, the said librous material being;` vot a ydiierent nature from the material of the roving or drawing.

8. A machine of the character described, comprisinga receptacle for fibrous material, an elevating; apron in said receptacle, a yibratory feeder for insuring the constantsupply of material to the apron,` a chamber for receiving material elevated by the apron, and, means for blowing` it-heL material from said chamber into a roving;v or drawing.

9. il. machine of the characterdescribed,' comprising),` a receptacle for iibrous material, an elevating apron in said receptacle, a feeder Jfor insuring the yconstant; supply of material to the apron, a `chamber for receiving material elevated `by the apron, andv f means for blowing the material from said chamber into a roving or drawing, said feeder having a hinged member forming the bottom of the receptacle, means being provided for yieldingly moving the hinged* member toward the apron and positively moving it away from the apron.

10. A machine of the character described, comprising a receptacle for fibrous material, an elevating apron in said receptacle, a feeder for insuring the constant supply of material to the apron, a chamber for receiving material elevated by the apron, and means for blowing the material from said chamber into a roving or drawing, said feeder consisting of two supports hinged together, and means for oscillating one of said supports.

ll. A machine of the character described,

comprising a receptacle for fibrous material, an elevating apron in said receptacle said apron having pins in spaced rows, a chamber for receiving material elevated by the apron, and means for blowing the material from said chamber into a roving or drawing.

l2. A machine of the character described, comprising a receptacle for fibrous material, a toothed apron in said receptacle, a chamber for receiving `material elevated by the apron, means for blowing the material from said chamber into a roving or drawing, and means for prescribing the amount of material delivered by the apron into said chamber,

13. A machine of the character described, comprising a receptacle for fibrous material,

a toothed apron in said receptacle, a chamber for receiving material elevated by the apron, means for blowing the material from said chamber into a roving or drawing, and adjustable doctor mechanism for prescribing the amount of material delivered by the apron into said chamber.

14. A. machine of the character described, comprising a receptacle for i'ibrous material, an elevating apron in said receptacle, a feeder for insuring supply of material to the lower part of the apron, guard devices for preventing material in the upper part of the receptacle from engaging the apron, a chamber for receiving material elevated by the apron, and means for delivering material from said chamber to a roving or drawing.

l5. l:Che method of introducing nubs of one kind of brous material into brous material of another kind for the production of kniclrerboclrer goods, consisting in causing' the last mentioned material to travel, and blowing the nubs into the last mentioned material while it is traveling.

16. The method of preparing the fibrous material for the production of knickerboclrer woven goods, consisting in producing roving, blowing nubs into said roving, and supporting the roving against the pressure of the current of air.

In testimony whereof I have aiiiXed my signature.

WILLIAM S. KINSLEY.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

